“Love Is Blind” Production Company Wins Motion in Lawsuit Filed by Season 5 Participant

Season 5 participant Renee Poche sued Netflix and production company Delirium TV in January claiming she was forced to participate on the show and move forward in her engagement to ex-fiancé Carter Wall. The lawsuit will be heading to arbitration.

Love Is Blind production company Delirium TV scored a legal victory in a lawsuit filed by season 5 participant Renee Poche.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bruce G. Iwasaki denied a request for Poche and her lawyers, Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos, to avoid arbitration in the lawsuit, according to a press release from the production company.

In the ruling, Judge Iwasaki noted Ms. Poche and her lawyers engaged in “heated rhetoric” but had “absolutely no evidence” that participating in arbitration — as required under Poche’s agreement with Delirium — would cause her harm, per the press release.

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Judge Iwasaki also noted the court had “grave doubts” about Poche’s request to avoid arbitration and ruled that she “must defend Delirium’s claims in the arbitration, and, should she choose to continue to pursue them, litigate her claims against Delirium and Netflix in arbitration.”

Delirium’s attorneys, Larry Iser and Allen Secretov of Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP, shared a statement reacting to the ruling.

“We are very pleased with the results of today’s hearing, which confirms that Delirium acted properly in filing its arbitration against Ms. Poche in response to her violations of her confidentiality and publicity obligations,” Iser and Secretov stated.

“Arbitration is the procedure that is spelled out in the agreement Ms. Poche signed when she applied to participate in Love is Blind,” the statement continued. “But, rather than defend against Delirium’s claims in arbitration, Ms. Poche and her lawyers chose to file a headline-grabbing Complaint in Court against Delirium and Netflix with a morass of arguments challenging the enforceability of the agreement she signed.”

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The statement concluded: “Ms. Poche and her lawyers twice sought—unsuccessfully—to enjoin Delirium from pursuing its arbitration against Ms. Poche, and also sought—unsuccessfully—to enjoin all of Delirium and Netflix’s employment and participant agreements.”

The press release also states that “Ms. Poche was asked to stop her unauthorized interviews and promptly mediate the dispute, and she was repeatedly warned, by production personnel as well as by Delirium’s lawyers, that her continued breaches of the participant agreement would result in Delirium filing arbitration.”

In January, Poche sued Netflix and Delirium TV for "unlawful employment practices," as well as "unfair competition" and "intentional infliction of emotional distress," according to a complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

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Poche alleged that Netflix and Delirium TV matched her with ex-fiancé Carter Wall, whom the complaint describes as a "walking red flag." Despite voicing her concerns about Wall's alleged "erratic and alarming behavior and emotional instability," Poche claimed Netflix and Delirium TV "forced" her to participate on the show and move forward with her engagement to Wall.

After speaking out about her time on the show, Netflix and Delirium TV claimed Poche violated her NDA and sought $4 million. However, Poche believed the NDA is "illegal and unenforceable," and she filed the lawsuit in hopes of clearing herself from "all forms of liability."

"My experience on Love is Blind was traumatic," Poche said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "I felt like a prisoner and had no support when I let Delirium know that I didn't feel safe. I tried to deal with these emotions over time and eventually felt like I needed to share what had happened. I felt it was only right to let others know the truth of what all of the castmates had to endure."

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In the complaint, Poche, a veterinarian from Austin, Texas, claimed she was "led to believe that participants were selected based on compatibility and marriage potential and screened with background checks and psychological examinations" after being approached by a casting representative through Instagram.

"Production was insistent that all participants had been vetted and were ‘marriage material,'" the complaint stated.

Once inside the pods, Poche said she "hit it off" with Wall, who she "later found out had lied about almost everything," according to the complaint. Per the complaint, Wall was allegedly "unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family, and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol" at the time of filming.

"Wall regularly berated Poche, stole from the set or places they visited, and solicited others to buy painkillers and amphetamines for him," the complaint alleged. "Wall was emotionally abusive on and off camera, lied malignantly, and heavily abused drugs and alcohol.”

Poche also claimed in the complaint that production "was well aware of Wall’s mental instability," with a camera operator even quitting in Mexico "after being physically threatened by Wall."

"In Houston, production staff warned Poche to ensure Wall had no access to firearms or other weapons because they were concerned he would hurt himself, her, or others," the complaint alleged.

Poche stated in the complaint that she became "utterly terrified to be around him and made her misgivings clear to production." Despite that, the vet alleged she was "forced to spend long stretches of time alone with him" and was told she "would subject herself to legal action if she were to discontinue her participation in the Program or otherwise refuse to move forward with the engagement."

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After ending her relationship with Wall once filming wrapped, Poche learned their storyline would not be featured on the show. She then began making "some limited public remarks about her distressing time" on the show.

In the wake of her comments, Delirium "initiated arbitration against Poche for purportedly violating her unlawful nondisclosure agreement," according to the complaint. The company is now seeking $4 million for the violation after Poche only made $8,000 from her appearances, per the complaint.

Poche believed the agreement was "illegal and unenforceable" and sought "relief" from the court for "any and all forms of liability."

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